Monday, March 20, 2017

Master Merchandise Corp

Master Merchandise Corp. was a fragrance distribution brand from New York who made knockoffs of popular fragrances during the 1950s that were named after popular plays, songs or movies of the time. They were a very short lived company that were affiliated to the following brand names: 

  • Codell, Inc.  
  • Miss Codell
  • Vivian Parfums Inc (originally a brand for Vivaudou)
  • Peggy Page (originally a brand for Klinker Manufacturing Co in 1926)


Master Merchandise Corp & their Cordell brand were sued in 1961 for applying fictitious retail prices and leading the public to believe the perfumes originated in France, when in reality they were wholly compounded in the USA. As a result of the lawsuit they were forbidden to use words such as "Paris", "Cafe Rouge", "Rue de la Amour" and prohibited from using phrases such as "Concentre fabrique avec essences de France" or any other French word, they were also banned from using any sort of image portraying the tricolor of  the French flag.

 I believe the companies went bankrupt in 1965.

The perfumes of Codell:

  • Silk Stockings 
  • 1954 - Three Coins in the Fountain 
  • 1955 - Love and Marriage
  • 1956 - Autumn Leaves
  • Your Highness
  • 1957 - A Hatful of Rain

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2 comments:

  1. kusaka_tanyaFebruary 13, 2022 at 9:27 PM

    Thank you very much for the information! I've got a bottle of Three Coins in the Fountain by Vivian and was desperate to find anything about that mysterious 'French' brand.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2023 at 2:53 PM

    Also want to express my thanks for this great info, CB! There's a sealed, boxed bottle of "3 Coins in a Fountain by Vivian" in a group of vintage frags on auction, so I'm researching.

    ReplyDelete

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